Catch-cord eliminator



Nov. 11, 1941. A. BALLARD ETAL CATCH-CORD ELIMINATOR Filed June 12, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 h 2 V o wuwwm, 5mm 0 V E, f 55 05MB H F PM L c A A0 3,

NOV. 11, Q BALLARD ET AL CATCH- CORD ELIMINATOR Filed June 12, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ALPHONGE BALL/1RD Ga 734 ME 5. CAflO/V [HA/6 7 MA 4 a A z. FRED 7205/?0 ax Nov. 11, 1941. A, BALLARD 2,262,718

CATCH-CORD ELIMINATOR Filed June 12, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fi/VE6T MALO ALFRED THE/700A Patented Nov. 11, 1941 CATCH-CORD ELIMINATOR Alphonse Ballard and Alfred Theroux, Moosup, and Ernest Malo, East Brooklyn, Conn,

Brooklyn,

ctave B. Caron, East assignors to Powdrell & Alexander, Inc., Danielson,'Conn., a corporation of Massachusetts Application June 12, 1940, Serial No. 340,100

9 Claims.

This invention relates to mechanical devices used on looms to engage each successive pick of filling at the selvages of the fabric so as to pre- Vent the loops of filling at the ends of each pick from being drawn inward beyond the desired line of extent of the selvages. As they perform the same function as the extra warps often employed at the selvages as catch-cords, they are commonly known as catch-cord eliminators.

An object of the present invention is to provide novel and improved catch-cord eliminators having advantages over prior devices in simplicity and ease of manufacture, installation, and ad justment, in long life and reduced wear, and in being able to work farther back from the fell without coming into collision with the reed than prior devices. Another object of the invention is to provide new and improved means for rendering the devices automatically inoperative at predetermined times and for any desired duration, and thereafter to restore them to operation at the desired moment.

To these ends, the invention comprises catchcord eliminators adapted for easy attachment to the temples which hold the fabric stretched widthwise, employing a hook, point, or other filling-loop-engaging member which is slidably mounted on its supporting parts connected to the temple instead of being pivotally mounted thereon, normally actuated by the lay, each time it beats up a pick of filling, to release the fillingloop, and in certain cases operatively connected with parts of the shuttle-box motion so as to be automatically retracted forwardly of the loom to an extent where it is clear of all parts traveling with the lay.

Hooks or other filling-loop-engaging devices of prior construction have been as a rule mounted by means of a fixed pivot on the temple, and hence have been seriously limited in their rearward reach because their movement has been mainly in an up-and-down direction and with so slight a component of motion forwardly of the loom in releasing the filling that they strike the reed if allowed to extend to any substantial distance rearward of the fell. Yet the weft extending from the edge of the fabric to the shuttle-box always slants rearwardly as the lay recedes and the filling-engaging hook moves rearward into position to engage the filling. If the pick of filling to be engaged is interwoven with the warps only at a point spaced some distance inwardly from the selvage, as in the case of a figure weft running from a figure that is set back from the edge of the cloth, its spaced relation to the fell compels the eliminator to reach rearward considerably beyond the fell into territory traversed by the advancing reed in order to intercept the pick of figure weft. This cannot be done with a member swinging as hitherto on a fixed pivot on the temple. But a finger or hook sliding fore-and-aft in the loom, or one mounted on a pivot which itself moves foreand-aft the loom with respect to the temple, can be made to reach as far back as is ever needed in practice, in order to make sure of engaging the free outward portion of each pick of weft terminating at its side of the loom. 4

' Thus, our improved catch-cord eliminators in their basic concept comprise a filling-engaging wire sliding fore-and-aft the loom through an eye in a support on each loom temple or other properly located base at eachside of the loom, such wire extending rearwardlyand downwardly to reach below the warps at the rear of the fell, and having a reverse bend at its forward end, to which is connected either rigidly or loosely a suitable member extending rearwardly above the wire to be struck by a part on the reed cap and thus moved forwardly to retract the wire upwardly and forwardly in a vertical plane so as to release the'pick of weft which it had intercepted.

Since the improved device is especially adapted for use in holding outwardly the terminal loops of figure weft, the action of the devices may be suspended to save unnecessary wear and tear thereon during the insertion of the ground wefts in weaving fabrics in which the figures are spaced 0 apart lengthwise of the fabric. Simple means is provided for such suspension of action by the invention through attaching a flexible connection or other lost-motion retractor link to the reverse bend of the wire finger or to the reed-cap-engaging member, and coupling this link to the lifting lever or other parts of the box-motion mechanism so as to retract the filling-engaging wire to a position above the warps and the actuator therefor to a of the reed-cap, whenever the shuttle or shuttles carrying the figure weft are rendered inactive through change of the shuttle-boxes.

Other aims of the invention, and the manner of their attainment, are as made plain hereinafter.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of certain of the parts at the front of a box-motion loom, showing the position forward of the travel devices of the invention in working relation thereon.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are respectively a right-hand elevation, a left-hand elevation, and a plan view,

downturned rearward. extremity 3 of a continuous rod or wire 5 having a level extent 1 passing over the pod 9 of the temple and a contiguous upwardly slanting section II through spaced aperture I5, I1, in the opposite obliquely upturned ends of a support l9 affixed to the shelf 2| at the inward side of the temple by means of one of the screws 23 which hold the temple to'its mounting base 25, a slot 21 being provided to admit of fore-and-aft adjustment of support |9. I 1 Y Rearward guide aperture I5 is an eye, with which the inclined-portion H of the wire 5v cooperates as a cam to lift the entire rearward end of the wire 5 into the dotted-line position shown in Fig. 3 as the wire is moved forward with respect to its support l9. To'impart such forward movement, the wire is bent reversely at 28 and extended rearwardly vertically above the portions l 13, its rearward end being oifset upwardly from the portion adjacent bend 28 to bring it to the level of the reed-cap 29 of lay 3| of the loom. The extreme rearward end of this vertically olfset portion isbent around as indicated at 33 to form a striker to be engaged by a suitable pad 35 applied to the front face of reed-cap 29. As the lay beats up, the impact of pad 35 against end 33 slides the whole wire forwardly into the position shown-in dottedlines in Fig. 3,v lifting the point I above the warps 31 and retracting it for-. ward of the extreme; travel of 3 the reed. The aperture H in the forward end of support I9 is in the form of a slot open at the upward end'of the upturned portion in which it is formed.

To returnthe wire 5 to its full-line position in which it engages the loops of filling, an expanding spring 39 is confined on the shank l3 between a washer 4| engaging the rearward surface of the upturned forwardend of support i9 and a collar 43 adjustably fixed on shank l3 byset-screw 45.

The rearward travel of the wire under the impulsion of spring 39 is limited by a stop member 41 looped around the reverse bend '21- forward of slot |1,- engaging the front face of the upturned portion of support l9. in which such slot is formed to limit rearward travel.

This stop member 41 is convenientlyformed with hooked extremities so as to. serve also as means for attaching the retractor strap or link 49, which pulls the wire 5-.into inoperative position. This retractor strap is attached at its forward end to an eye in the upper end of an arm 5|. fixed on a rockshaft 53 pivoted in suitable bearings 55 on.brackets 51 bolted to the front edges of the loom sides 59 at each side of'the loom. One end of rockshaft 53 has an arm 6|1-integralor fixed thereon which has a cranked end-portion 63 located above theforward end oflever B5 of the change-box-motion which lifts and lowers the shifting shuttle-boxes 51 in accordance with the requirements of the figures being woven.

. Thus, wheneverthe shuttle or shuttles containing the figure weft are lowered into working relation, 75

which 1 adjoins a. straight and level shank-portion |3 extending.

prises a filling-engaging point I formed on the" in Figs. 5, 6, and 1 employs arm 6| is left unsupported, dropping down and allowing arm 5| to rest against the breast beam or adjacent parts, thus relaxing the tension on strap or link 49 and permitting the spring |3 to cause the wire 5 to assume the full-line position of Fig. 3, and to be pushed into the dotted-line position of such figure each time the lay heats up. When the boxes are again lifted to bring up the ground weft shuttle to race level, the forward end of box-lever 65 contacts and lifts the adjacent end ofarm |5| retracting the wire 5 into its protracted inoperative position until the figure weft again comes into use.

The alternative form of the invention shown an actuator 61 from which is supported the weft-engaging wire 69, the actuator being a flat metal strip pivoted at its lower end on a bolt 1| fixed through a suitable hole in the vertical web 13 of the temple shank, the forward end of wire 69 being bent into an eye which is pivotally attached by bolt 15 to an intermediate point in the length of actuator 61.

The free upper end of part 61 is twisted into parallel with the reed-capand rolled over as indicated at 11 for engagement. by the pad 35 on the reed-cap. The support 19 for these parts is fixed to the temple pod by the usual cap-screw 8| which holds the top of. pod 9 in place, the'rearward end 83 of the support being turned up and provided with an eye 85' guiding the wire 69 in its, sliding movement therethrough backward and forward in the loom. .The forward end of support 19 is twisted to admit of being interposed betweenac'tuator 61 and the web 13 of the tem-l ple shank, and has ,a tongue 81 cut away and twisted out of the, vertical plane into the path of actuator 61 to engage itsrearward edge and serve as a stop limitingrearward swing. of the actuator. A contracting spring 89 anchored by means of a hole in part 83 pulls rearwardly on actuator 61 to hold the actuator normally the art-without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed inthe claims. Therefore,

we do not wish to be limited to the particular forms shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but

What we do claim is:

l. A catch-cord eliminator for looms having a lay and a reed-cap on the lay, comprising inv combination a support having an eye in its rear.- ward end, a filling-engagingwire mounted for sliding movement fore-and-aft the loom through such ,eye, extending rearward and downward to reach below the warps at the rear of the fell, and having a reverse bend at its forward end, and meansin connection .with thereverse bend ex:

I tending rearward above the wire to be struck by.

a part on the-reedr-cap' .and moved to retract the wirejupwardly. and forwardly. in a vertical plane.

'2.' A.,catc'h-cord eliminator for a loom having. a 'lay, comprising in combination a support having an eye atitsrearward end and a slot at its forward end,a filling-engaging: finger sliding in such eye and having a reverse bend sliding in the said slot, and an integral portion extending rearwardly above the eye into the path of travel of a part on the lay.

3. A catch-cord eliminator for looms having in combination spaced guides, a finger sliding in such guides having a down-turned rearward filling-engaging extremity and a bent portion doubled back on itself which slides through a guide, and means reciprocating the finger back and forth in the guides.

4. A catch-cord eliminator for looms having a lay, having in combination a member engaging the working filling at a point in its length between its shuttle and the cloth, means supporting such member for movement fore-and-aft the loom, engaging the member at spaced points only in its length, means moving the member forwardly and backwardly in timed relation to the movements of the lay, and cam means on the member engaging with one of the guides to lift the rearward end of the member as the latter is moved forwardly.

5. A catch-cord eliminator for looms having in combination a filling-engaging member having a reverse bend at its frontward end, supporting means holding such bend disposed in a vertical plane with capacity for sliding movement foreand-aft the loom, means within the bend at the frontward side of the supporting means limiting rearward movements of the member, means causing forward and rearward movement of the member, and cam means in connection with the member lifting and lowering its rearward end in the course of its respective forward and rearward travel respectively to release and to engage the working filling at a point in its length between its shuttle and the fabric.

6. A catch-cord eliminator for change-box looms having a lay, comprising in combination a member engaging the working filling at a point in its length between its shuttle and the cloth, lay-operated means making the member periodically disengage and reengage the filling, a rockshaft, 2. lost-motion connection between the latter and the member, and connections between the change-box mechanism and the rockshaft rotating the latter and thereby retracting the member out of engagement with the filling to suspend the periodic action produced by the lay.

'7. A catch-cord eliminator for change-box looms having a lay, having in combination a member engaging the working filling at a point in its length between its shuttle and the cloth, means actuated by the lay retracting such member from the filling as the lay heats up and releasing it for engagement by the filling as the lay recedes, and means including a rockshaft actuated solely by the change-box-operating mechanism also retracting the filling-engaging member and holding it out of actuation by the lay.

8, A catch-cord eliminator for change-box looms having a lay, having in combination a member engaging the working filling at a point in its length between its shuttle and the cloth, means actuated by the lay retracting such member from the filling as the lay beats up and releasing it for engagement by the filling as the lay recedes, a rockshaft additional to such means, an arm on the latter engaged by a part on the change-box motion to rock the rockshaft when the boxes are shifted, and connections between the rockshaft and the filling-engaging member retracting the latter to an extent rendering the lay inoperative to actuate the filling-engaging member.

9. A catch-cord eliminator for looms having a lay, having in combination a support, a lever having one of its extremities pivoted on the support, and its other extremity yieldingly held in a position to be struck by a part on the lay as the latter beats up, a pivot on the lever intermediate the point of pivotal support of the lever and the extremity struck by a part on the lay, a fillingengaging member pivotally mounted by one of its ends on the intermediate pivot, guide means on the support through which the member slides endwise as the lever is actuated by the part on the lay to place its rearward extremity alternately below and above the warps, and means yieldingly urging the lever toward the lay.

ALPHONSE BALLARD. ALFRED THEROUX. OCTAVE .B. CARON. ERNEST MALO. 

